Railroad lifting jack



May 9, 1939. OKUDA RAILROAD LIFTING JACK Filed Aug. 9, 1938 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

Patented May 9 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

This invention relates to lifting jacks, for railroad work, and particularly to means for moving such jacks along a railway. In the practice of repairing railway tracks, it is frequently necessary to raise cross ties from earth and stones along the roadbed for renewing ties and to facilitate the tamping of earth and stones beneath ties remaining in place. Such ties are usually attached to the ordinary rails by spikes, and it is expedient to lift such ties by raising the rails to which they are so attached; and for this purpose a power jack is important as a labor saver and for effectiveness. Such jacks are preferably positioned between any two cross ties, and provided with an extension or lifting foot to be positioned beneath the respective part of the rail to be lifted.

Jacks for this purpose and for other lifting purposes along a railway, are necessarily heavily constructed, and ordinarily of such weight that several men are required for moving the same from place to place. In some instances handcars are employed for such moving, and several men are then required to operate such cars, and for lifting such jacks upon and from such cars.

It is therefore among the objects of this invention to provide such a jack of substantially conventional type, with a specially formed and connected drum or roller, with concaved faces thereon adapted to fit upon the ordinary rails, for supporting and rolling such jacks to various positions along the railway, and to facilitate the raising of such jacks upon such rails for that purpose.

With these and other objects to be hereinafter shown, I have illustratively exemplified my invention by the accompanying drawing of which,

Figure 1 shows a side elevation of the jack and base block with one end of the roller indicated by a dotted circle and a part broken away to show one side of a groove and a lifting foot therein.

Figure 2 represents a rear elevation of the jack, with the roller in position upon a fragment of a rail, the latter indicated by dotted lines.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary view of a part of the base and inside of one of the jaws and a cross section of the center of the roller taken on line 3--3 of Fig. 2.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the roller.

Like numerals on the different figures represent like parts.

Numeral 5 represents a tubular column within which is operatively mounted a lifting post 6. A

lifting foot 1 is extended at right angles from the lower end of the post for positioning beneath the railroad rail or other object to be lifted, and a slot 8 is provided along the front portion of the column to permit the foot to be raised and lowered therein. Rack teeth 9 are carried on the opposite side of the post and the post is conventionally operated with ordinary pawls, not necessary to be shown, adjacent the inner end of a pivotally mounted socket l0, and a hand lever II.

On the bottom of the column and preferably integral therewith is a supporting base or block I2 which is in general rectangular in shape, with one end extended as a toe l3, and the other end as heel M, for supports. Two jaws l5 and I6 project from the heel and are spaced apart. Between said jaws is rotatably mounted a drum or roller A, preferably on an axle H. The ends I8 and IQ of the roller are positioned down approximately adjacent the bottom face of the base and normally rest upon the ground surface, and aid in supporting the column upright for lifting purposes. The center 20 of the roller, however, is narrowed to a much less diameter than the ends, and the face of the roller is accordingly concaved in shape and adapted to conform to the ordinary convex faces across railroad rails as indicated by dotted lines 2|, in Figs. 2 and 3, for moving the jack.

A cover plate 23 is provided over the roller and between the jaws for reinforcement and to prevent small stones and rubbish from jamming between the roller and the heel. During use of the jack for lifting ties and rails to permit ballasting and in tamping earth and rocks beneath the ties, as is customary, it follows as a matter of course that quantities of such ballast will fall on and over the base of the jack, tending to readily enter any exposed opening in such base. In the absence of the cap 23, above referred to, such material would readily enter between the roller A and the adjacent part of the base and prevent free rotation of the roller and thus prevent its primary function. The cap 23 is therefore of important function in protecting the roller against interference, and has the additional function of connecting and bracing the jaws l5 and I6. On top of the post is a roughened cap 6' adapted to be positioned beneath bridge timbers and other elevated objects along a railway to be lifted by the jack.

In use for lifting the rails and ties the base is positioned between two ties to be lifted with the toe l3 and the foot I, adjusted beneath the connecting portion of a rail. The rail is then raised by the operation of the handle II in the usual manner for the elevation of the post. The ends of the roller in such lifting rest upon the ground as a part of the base for supports. In order to transport the jack to another location, which is frequently necessary, a single operator may lower the column sideways to the ground and adjust one end of the roller over one edge of the rail and then easily slide the roller endwise up over and upon the rail until it is in position substantially as indicated in Fig. 4. The jack may be then easily rolled along over the rails with its Weight supported upon the roller. A single operator, meanwhile, need only steady the column from the handle 22, at a suitable angle over the rail and then roll the jack to the position where it may be next required. It will be readily understood that at no time need the entire weight of the jack be lifted for mounting the same upon the rail or for rolling the jack along the rail to the desired location.

It is of course to be emphasized that the roller A is of such concave face as to conform to the shape of the top of the rail head, whereby the roller not only functions easy movement of the jack but actually guides the jack in such movement and prevents its casual lateral displacement relative to the rail.

Having described my invention I claim as new:

1. A jack for railway use, including a base having a recess at one end located wholly within the outline of the base, and a supporting roller mounted for rotation within such recess, the surface of the roller being concave on an outline conforming to the top of the head of the rail with which the jack is to be used, whereby rolling and guiding of the jack is provided for in jack movement from place to place.

2. A construction as defined in claim 1, wherein the upper wall of the recess in which the roller is mounted serves as a protective cap for the roller against material falling on the upper side of the base during use of the jack and as a reinforcement to the walls of the recess in which the roller is mounted.

ISAMU OKUDA. 

